Vulnerability Index Map
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About This Site
Why does someone experience homelessness? Why does the rate of homelessness fluctuate from month to month or year to year? Using publicly available data and information about where people in Travis County lose their housing, we show that homelessness is a structural problem, one that can be prevented by addressing underlying socioeconomic conditions.
To show where the risk of becoming homeless is greatest, we have created a Homelessness Vulnerability Index that incorporates socioeconomic data at the Census Tract level.
The interactive map to the right and the buttons above allow you to dig into the data and see how homelessness is correlated with a number of socioeconomic conditions.
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Travis County Homelessness Vulnerability Index
Recent Rent and Eviction Data
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Evictions in Austin
Average Rent in Austin
Socioeconomic Factors
Rent Prices
The two scatterplots here show the following:
Rent Burden
- A 5 percentage point increase in the number of people in a Tract who are rent burdened is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
- On average, almost 4 more people (per 5,000) fall into homelessness in the most rent burdened Tracts than they do in the least rent burdened Tracts.
Median Gross Rent
- An 8 percent increase in the median gross rent in a Tract is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
- On average, almost 3 more people (per 5,000) fall into homelessness in Tracts with the highest rent increase than they do in ones with the lowest.
Evictions and Overcrowded Rentals
The two plots here show the following:
Evictions
- An increase of 2 in the historical eviction filing rate in a Tract is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
- On average, almost 5 more people (per 5,000) fall into homelessness in Tracts with the highest historical eviction rates than they do in Tracts with the least.
Overcrowded Rental Units
- A 1 percentage point increase in the number of people who live in overcrowded rental units is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
- On average, almost 5 more people (per 5,000) fall into homelessness in Tracts with the highest number of overcrowded rental units than they do in Tracts with the least.
Housing Values and Gentrification
The two plots here show the following:
Housing Values
- A 6 percent increase in housing values in a Tract is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
Gentrification
- On average, approximately 16 more people (per 5,000) fall into homelessness in gentrifying Tracts than they do in Tracts that are not gentrifying.
Health Access
The two scatterplots here show the following:
Health Insurance
- A 3 percentage point increase in the number of people in a Tract who do not have health insurance is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
Health Services
- A decrease of 2 health service facilities (per 1,000 people) is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
Poverty and Unemployment Rates
The two scatterplots here show the following:
Poverty
- A 2 percentage point increase in the poverty rate in a Tract is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
Unemployment
- A 1 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
Race and Ethnicity
The two scatterplots here show the following:
- A 2 percentage point increase in the proportion of a Tract’s population that is non-Hispanic Black is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
- A 4 percentage point increase in the proportion of a Tract’s population that is Hispanic is correlated with an increase of 1 person (per 5,000) falling into homelessness.
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About the Data and Index
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About the index:
Coming soon!
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Data sources:
Coming soon!